Thieves damage roof while ripping off lead

THIEVES who stole lead off the roof of a centuryold listed building occupied by a charity have caused thousands of pounds worth of damage.

Their attack also caused rain to pour inside Mental Health Matters, on Quarella Road, Bridgend.

Chief executive Richard Jones said: “It’s so frustrating. We haven’t had a proper quote yet, but we’ve been told to expect repair work to cost in the thousands.

“It’s a listed building as well, so we have to replace the broken tiles with Welsh slate.

“We have insurance, but that doesn’t mean it’s not going to make a difference to our premiums.”

He believes the thieves struck between 3.30pm on Sunday, when he left the office, and Monday morning.

“They have ripped off a lot of tiles while they have ripped off the lead,” he said.

“This is someone trying to do it as quickly as possible as they have caused massive damage to basically get a couple of hundred pounds worth of lead.”

Following the theft rain seeped into the building and ran down the inner walls, soaking the carpet.

Emergency repairs have now been carried out while they await an insurance assessor.

A spokesman for South Wales Police said officers have carried out houseto-house inquiries and are looking at CCTV.

Anyone who witnessed the incident or has any information is asked to contact police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111 quoting ref: 1700246245.